Engineering Nanocolumnar Defect Configurations for Optimized Vortex Pinning in High Temperature Superconducting Nanocomposite Wires

Abstract

High temperature superconducting (HTS), coated conductor wires based on nanocomposite films containing self-assembled, insulating BaZrO3 (BZO) nanocolumnar defects have previously been reported to exhibit enhanced vortex pinning. Here, we report on microstructural design via control of BZO nanocolumns density in YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO)+BZO nancomposite films to achieve the highest critical current density, Jc(H,θ,T). X-ray diffraction and microstructural examination shows increasing number density of epitaxial BZO nanocolumns in the highly cube-textured YBCO matrix with increasing nominal BZO additions. Transport property measurement reveals that an increase in BZO content upto 4 vol% is required to sustain the highest pinning and Jc performance as the magnetic field increases. By growing thicker, single-layer nanocomposite films (~4 µm) with controlled density of BZO columnar defects, the critical current (Ic) of ~1000 A/cm at 77 K, self-field and the minimum Ic of 455 A/cm at 65 K and 3 T for all magnetic field orientations were obtained. This is the highest Ic reported to date for films on metallic templates which are the basis for the 2nd generation, coated conductor-based HTS wires.